Well, you have venomous snakes in a large part of the western US and even the south east. Just keep brush piles clear, high weeds cut down and you shouldn't have a problem.

You can minimize the risks as tracydr stated above. If you live in an area where rattlesnakes are present - out lying areas of the cities or rural areas - you should always be cautious where you put your hands or feet.

It depends a lot on where you live too. When we lived in Gold Canyon we found Diamondbacks around our house and on the street many times. However we have not seen a snake of any kind in our neighborhood in Mesa in the last 9+ years. Not that Mesa is any better but each neighborhood is different. The thing is I saw a lot more rattlesnakes growing up in El Centro and Lancaster and Petaluma all of which are in California. I guess you just have to be careful no matter where you live.

Thanks for asking the question. It has been so long since I have seen a snake I was not even worrying about it. Now I will for sure poke around my melon plants before I walk through them looking for ripe melons.

thisisme- Yea thats what concerns me the most (vegetable gardening where the plants can hide them). I am looking to move into the city of Phoenix in one of the historic districts and would like to do a veggie garden, pomegranate, peach and orange trees. But being from Illinois I just do not know what to expect in regards to this. I mean we have deadly snakes here too but no one ever sees them in the backyards or gardens.

wbus99 in discussions like these I think its best to kind of put things into proper perspective. Your chances of being struck by lightning are higher than your chances of being bitten by a snake. I would say thats pretty good odds. Pay attention and you should not have anything to worry about.

So; How worried are you of being struck by lightning? Cut that in half and thats how much you should fear being bitten by a snake while gardening in Arizona. I'm not saying if you see snakes in your garden they are not dangerous. I'm just trying to put things in proper perspective. Lightning is dangerous too and strikes more often.

Lived here all my life, never seen a snake, or a scorpion. Or a bear, ocelot, orangutang or tapir in my garden.

Im from Illinois too, and I think the snakes like Land of Lincoln blood. I get bit at least 5 times a year just walking outside. I have a anti-snake garden kit for sale if interested.

I'm also from Illinois, where I pretty much gave up gardening due to mosquitoes, biting flies, ticks, and wasps.
Have not seen any snakes in the yard only the occasional gecko/ lizard.
Have been bitten by ants though.

I have lived in an outlying area, east of Mesa for about 17 years. In all of that time I have never seen a rattlesnake in my yard. We have several other kinds of snakes like gopher snakes, King snakes, Coachwhips etc which is probably why I haven't seen a rattlesnake.
You just have to look where you are going and where you put your hands.

Actually, it's not snakes I worry about here in Southern AZ, it's Africanized bees. They will go berzerk if you get too close to their hive, or if you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

When they attack, they aim for the face and will crawl into your ears, nose, and mouth, sometimes to where you can't breathe.

If you see a cluster of bees in a tree, or a swarm passing overhead, they're harmless. But if you discover a hive, with bees going in and out, call an exterminator ASAP. They can, and have, killed pets and even people. Don't mess with them.

I've only been in AZ for 7 years. I've seen about 1-2 snakes a year, most of them either in my parents neighborhood in Desert Ridge or out riding my horses. The only close call I had was when I was riding at high speed and my horse nearly got bitten. The snake simply didn't have time to warn him off. That was at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
We don't hunt our Beagles ( we have a fox hunting group up in Flagstaff and a Beagle hunting group in Phoenix that we hunt in traditional English style, completely no-kill), until November, when the snakes tend not to be sunning themselves.
The thing about snakes is they are shy and will try to get away, only biting if cornered and out of all other options. I would be more worried about copperheads and water moccasins in OK because they are silent and because water moccasins can actually be aggressive.
If you here one, just back away slowly and give it space. He doesn't want you around. Call a snake expert to remove it from the yard.
I highly recommend snake training for dogs if you take them walking on trails or have had them in the yards. There is a snake vaccine for dogs but I'm not too sure I would trust it, my vet isn't real pro-vaccine and doesn't recommend any extra vaccines at all.

Never seen a snake here in 47 years. My house was built in 1957. But...I did fish out a roof rat..or gopher from my pool last night (it was dark, I didn't want to look too hard at it). I could use a few non venomous snakes in my neighborhood.

Question for long time Phoenicians, when was the last time you saw a horned toad? They used to be everywhere, probably haven't seen one in 25+ years...

euqruob, I have at least a couple of families of horned toads living on my property. My dog killed a big one last year that got stuck in some bird netting. There are some juvenile ones in the same area this year. There is another large one in the opposite corner of my acre that likes to sun on the block fence between mine & my neighbors house. I live out near the White Tanks.

wbus999,

I live in a historic district in downtown Phoenix and it's really just like gardening in any urban area in terms of critters...not much of anything I would ever worry about while gardening (just annoying pests like crickets and caterpillars, who like to munch on your fruit!). Certainly not any snakes. The bees I've seen here are the sweet, small, mild-mannered ones that pollinate. Since living here I've never been bitten, stung, or even pooped on by anything! And I spend a lot of time outdoors in my yard & garden.

Downtown we're just not close enough to the desert mountains to get the same type of critters. You'd probably see more of an issue in Illinois with deer/rabbits/squirrels in your garden than we do with wildlife here.(I know because my dad lives in Peoria!)

I believe the biggest danger you're in is getting pricked by a bougainvillea while trimming!

Good luck in Phoenix! I hope you like it here! :)

I came from Illinois, also, in May of 2000. I've learned much since moving here; about illegals, snakes and native plants. Sometimes I learned the hard way. For example, getting too close to the cactus that will jump on you, if you get too close! Ouch! (I forgot the name of that one). The needles are very hard to extract from your skin! I think I suffered more from trying to remove them, than actually having them in my skin.

We get several rattlers in our yard, every year. As a matter of fact, one has taken up residence under our home. But, I don't mind, for it has cut down the amount of field mice who like to come into our home in the fall/winter. One time, a rattler was cornered in a hole, from my dogs, a hole my shepherd mix had dug, earlier in the week. All three of my dogs barked a warning to us, keeping a good distance from it, themselves. My fiance' tried to get it back into the desert. But, it was too close to a place where it could get under our house and there it went.

Does it bother me that we have a resident snake? Well, if I had young children it would. But, since I've learned about snakes in AZ, how shy they are and how the rattlers make their rattle sounds to warn, not necessarily to attack, unless they felt they had to, I am not as afraid as when I first moved here. When my dog, (two had passed away last year), warns me, now, I just bring her in and let the snake go where ever it wants. Hopefully back out to the desert that backs up to my backyard. Like the others, posting here, I just keep an ear/eyes open and try to avoid them. After all, they were here first and they are good for eliminating mice, etc.

As far as the African bees, I can tell you one thing. If you find them in or near your yard, it is best to call a professional. The bees don't like any noise and loud colors on a person. Especially yellow, it seems. Some colors seems to anger them. I was weed wacking one day, (wearing a yellow top), far from their nest,(about 1/4 acre away), when they came after me. Thankfully, I was right near my back door and was able to duck inside before I was hit by many. Only one stung me, so I had to take medication because I'm allergic to bees. If you think you are near those bees, keep quiet, try to wear soft colors, when working outside and keep your ears open. You can hear the bees in their nests, for their buzzing is loud, and when they are traveling, looking for a new hive to start. If they don't pass by, but settle near your home, then call a professional, definitely. They are very aggressive and once they start after you, they won't quit!
For more information about these bees, check out:
http://phoenix.about.com/cs/desert/a/killerbees01.htm

Greenthumb, What did you learn about illegals?

"Greenthumb, What did you learn about illegals?"

Their bite is worse than a rattlesnake.lol